Door latch



Nov. 3, 1942.

s. BRANTINGSON DOOR LATCH Filed June 26, 1941 Patented Nov. 3, 1942 DOOR LATCH Sigurd Brantingson, Hamden, Conn, assignor to Sargent & Company, New Haven, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application June 26, 1941, Serial No. 399,807

7 Claims.

This invention relates to door latches, and more particularly a latch designed to be operated by a knob or similar structure upon one side of the door, and by a pivoted thumb latch on the opposite side of the door.

It is more or less common practice to provide latches for doors for certain uses which will be employed with a so-called door handle on one side of the door, a pivoted thumb latch being mounted above the handle to be depressed by the thumb when the handle is grasped by the fingers, the depression of the thumb latch being adapted to retract the latch bolt. In most structures of this kind the latch bolt is arranged to be retracted by a rotatable hub or spindle, and provision must be made for efiecting the rotation of the spindle by apivotal motion of the thumb latch. Usually a more or less complicated system of levers have been employed for this purpose Which required thethumb latch to be mounted in a position below the bolt spindle so that the levers or other mechanism transferring the movement of the thumb latch to the spindle could be mounted between these parts. Also such mechanism usually required the use of a supporting plate for the lever mechanism and thus considerably increased the expense of the structure. In the present invention it is contemplated to provide a simple connection be tween the inner end of the thumb latch and the bolt-operating spindle, such that the pivotal motion of the thumb latch will effect rotation of the spindle, and which will permit the mounting of the thumb latch on the door at substantially the same level as, or in the plane of, the spindle itself. Moreover, all of the mechanism may be carried upon the small plate which carries the thumb latch and which secures the handle to the door, thus effecting a very economical structure from a manufacturing point of view, as well as a doortrimming of very neat appearance.

One object of the invention is the provision of a door latch operable by a pivoted latch member upon one side of the door, the latch member being mounted in substantially the same horizontal plane as the bolt or the spindle which operates the bolt.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a door latch structure of the character described, which employs very simple and inexpensive mechanism for effecting the rotation of the latch bolt spindle by a pivotal movement of the thumb latch.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a door latch mechanism operable by a knob upon one side of the door, and by a pivoted thumb latch upon the other side, which mechanism will be of simple construction and economical to manufacture as Well as eiiicient in operation and of neat appearance.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 isan edge View of a door having my improved latch mechanism mounted thereon, certain parts being shown in section for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 2 is an inside View of the upper plate and thumb latch mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of Fig; 2;

Fig. 4 is a View of the latch bolt and operating mechanism therefor, the cover of the bolt casing having been removed to expose the inner parts;

Fig. 5 is a side view, partly broken away, of the supporting mechanism for the thumb latch member and spindle; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the thumb latch.

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention I have shown a door Ill in the edge of which is mounted a latch case It having a face plate [2 secured to the door by screws l3. The

face plate of the latch case is provided with an opening through which projects the latch bolt head 14, this head being provided with a rearwardly extending stem comprising legs l5 and Hi, which legs have transversely turned portions 11 and I8 to be engaged by a rollback 59 carried by a hub 20, which hub is rotatably mounted in the walls of the latch case.

The hub 2E1 is provided with a non-circular opening '2! to receive a spindle 22 of complemental shape, and, as will be obvious, rotation of the spindle 22 will effect rotation of the hub 20, and retract the bolt head M within the case in the, usual manner. The protraction of the bolt is effected by the spring l5 which acts between a' post lEi mounted in the latch case and the head [4 of the latchbolt.

Upon one side of the door, usually the ins de if the mechanism is mounted upon an outer door, the usual knob 23 will be secured upon the end of the spindle 22 to rotate the latter. As far as the description has proceeded the parts are more or less of usual form, and the operation of the latch bolt by the knob will be readily understood by those skilled in the art without further description.

Upon the side of the door opposite the knob 23 is mounted a handle member 24, this handle member being secured to upper escutcheon plates 25 and 26 by means of the nuts 2''! and 23 threaded upon the inner ends of posts 29 and 30, secured to the upper and lower ends of the handle 24 and projecting through the plates 25 and 26. These plates may be secured to the door in any desired manner, such as screws, for example, passing through openings which may be provided therefor in the plates. It will be understood that suitable openings or mortises are provided in the face of the door for the mechanism positioned at the rear of the plates, so that the latter Will lie flatly upon the surface of the door.

Secured to the upper plate 25 is a supporting plate 3| which may be held in place by having its lower portion clamped between the nut 27 and the plate 25. This supporting plate 3! is provided with a pair of inwardly extending flanges 32 and 33 at its side edges and adjacent the upper end of the plate. It may also be noted that an integral portion of the flange 32 is bent or turned over transversely to provide an car 34, for a purpose to be presently described.

The spindle 22 is adapted to extend through the latch casing l I, and as shown more especially in Fig. 3, this spindle is provided with a rounded end portion 35 to which is secured a laterally projecting pin 36, and is also provided with a reduced end portion 3'! which is rotatably mounted in an opening in the ear 34, and the end of this reduced portion riveted over a washer 38 below the car. In this manner this end of the spindle 22 is rotatably mounted in the ear 34 carried by the plate 3|, and the pin 35 is disposed in a position adjacent the plate 25, where itmay be conveniently engaged by the pivoted thumb latch mounted upon this plate.

The thumb latch member is shown more especially in Figs. 1, 3 and 5, and comprises a thumb member 40 positioned above the handle 24, to which member is secured a body portion 4| pivotally mounted upon a pin 42 supported by the flanges 32 and 33. It will be noted that the ear 34 is spaced sufliciently from the body of the plate 3| to permit the portion 4| of the thumb latch to lie between these parts, and that this portion of the thumb latch extends through registering openings in the plates 25 and 3|. At one side of the portion M of the latch member is provided an inwardly extending finger 43, which has a recess 44 formed in the edge thereof, in which recess the pin 36 is adapted to lie.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that when the portion 40 of the thumb latch is depressed the inner end 43 of this member will be raised and will carry with it the pin 36 which extends loosely within the recess 44. The upward movement of the pin 35 will effect rotation of the spindle 22, which will in turn efiect retraction of the latch bolt l4. When the thumb piece 40 is released, the spring I mounted in the latch case, will return the latch bolt to its protracted position. This will effect the reverse rotation of the spindle 22, which through engagement of the pin 36 in the recess 44 will restore the thumb piece 40 to its raised position. It will be seen that a very simple and inexpensive mechanism is employed for converting the pivotal mo tion of the thumb piece into rotary motion to efiect the rotation of the hub 2!! or the spindle 22, and at the same time the thumb latch member is mounted opposite the end of the spindle 22, with and lower its pivot 42 being substantially in the horizontal plane of this spindle.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A latch construction for doors comprising a casing, a latch bolt reciprocably mounted therein, a handle adapted to be mounted on the outside of the door and having a supporting plate at one end thereof, a latch lever pivotally mounted on said plate, a spindle having one end rotatably carried by the plate and projecting into the casing, means operatively connecting said spindle to the latch bolt, and means operatively connecting said latch lever to the spindle whereby pivotal movement of the former efiects rotation of the latter, the pivot of said latch lever lying substantially in the same horizontal plane as the axis of the spindle, and said last-named connecting means being disposed between the plate and the latch casing.

2. A latch construction for doors comprising a casing, a latch bolt reciprocably mounted therein, a handle adapted to be mounted on the outside of the door and having a supporting plate at one end thereof, a latch lever pivotally mounted on said plate, a spindle having one end rotatably carried by the plate and projecting into the casing, and means operatively connecting said spindle to the latch bolt, said latch lever having a rearwardly projecting portion adjacent the spindle and the latter having a laterally projecting part engaged with such portion for operation thereby, and said part being disposed between the plate and the latch casing.

3. A latch construction for doors comprising a casing, a latch bolt reciprocably mounted therein, a handle adapted to be mounted on the outside of the door and having a supporting plate at one end thereof, a latch lever pivotally mounted on said plate, a spindle rotatably carried by the plate and projecting into the casing, and means operatively connecting said spindle to the latch bolt, said latch lever having a slotted portion projecting rearwardly of the pivot beside the spindle and the latter having a laterally projecting pin engaged in said slot.

4. In combination with a door latch having a bolt, a door handle and mounting therefor including a plate at the upper end of the handle, a latch lever, means for pivotally mounting said lever on said plate with the pivot disposed rearwardly of the plate, a spindle operatively connected with the bolt and having one end rotatably carried by the plate, said mounting means comprising projecting flanges on the rear face of the plate between which said lever extends, one of said flanges supporting said end of the spindle, an arm carried by the lever, and means on the spindle with which said arm is directly engaged to operate the spindle.

5. In combination'with a door latch having a bolt, a door handle and mounting therefor including a plate at the upper end of the handle, a latch lever, means for pivotally mounting said lever on said plate with the pivot disposed rearwardly of the plate, a spindle operatively connected with the bolt and having one end rotatably carried by the plate, said mounting means comprising projecting flanges on the rear face of the plate, one of which supports said spindle, an

arm on the lever, and a laterally projecting pin on the spindle engaged by said arm to effect rotation of the spindle upon pivotal movement of the lever.

6. In combination with a door latch having a casing and a bolt therein, a door handle and mounting therefor including a plate at the upper end of the handle, a latch lever, means for pivotally mounting said lever on said plate with the pivot disposed rearwardly of the plate, a spindle operatively connected with the bolt and having one end rotatably carried by the plate, and means, disposed exteriorly of the casing, operatively connecting the latch lever with the spindle, and the pivot of said lever lying in substantially the same plane as the axis of said spindle.

7. A latch construction for doors, comprising a casing, a latch bolt reciprooably mounted therein, a handle adapted to be mounted on the outside of the door and having a supporting plate at one end thereof, a spindle operatively connected with the latch bolt and projecting from the casing toward said plate, a latch lever pivoted to the plate in substantially horizontal alignment with said spindle, an arm on the lever, and means on the projecting end of the spindle with which said arm is engaged. to effect rotation of the spindle upon pivotal movement of the lever, said arm extending beyond the end of the spindle and being disposed closely adjacent the side of the spindle.

SIG-URD BRAN'I'INGSON.

E) l S C L A I M E R 2,300,905.Sigw'd Brantingson, Hamden, Conn. D003 LATCH. Patent dated Nov. 3, 1942. Disclaimer filed Mar. 24, 1945, by the assignee, Sargent dc Com.-

pany. Hereby enters this disclaimer to claims 1, 2, and 7 of said specification.

[Oflicial Gazette May 1,1945] 

